Engine starter



ENGINE STARTER Filed Oct. 5, 1921 2 3hee-5haet l Aug. 26 p 1924.

F. SAINTN ENGINE STARTER Filed 001;. 5., 1921 LSUGBSG 2 Eiwei-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES FLIX SAINTIN, OF POISSY, SEINE AND OISE, FRANCE.

ENGINE STARTER.

Application :filed October 5, 1921.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FLIX SAINTIN, citizen of the French Republic, residing at Poissy, Seine and Oise, France, have invented certain .new and useful Improvements in Engine Starters, of which the vfollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

.For the starting of .internal .combustion engines, and especially the high power single-cylinder engines, known devices are in use which instead of employing compressed .air are operated by means of an explosive mixture which is introduced under pressure into the cylinder, the engine being placed at the end of the compression stroke, in such manner that ythe ignition spark will start the engine with a much greater power than would be obtained with the exclusive use of compressed air. The explosive mixture was for instance constituted by means of a hand operated air p-ump exerting a suction effect upon a mixture of gasoline and air and delivering the said mixture into the -cylinder of the engine. But by reason of the leakage which always occurs in practice at the piston of the engine, the capacity of the said hand Vpump was insufcient to attain the degree of compression at the end of the engine cylinder such as was required to produce the proper explosion and starting action. In fact, the devices of this type which were used upon various machines such as road rollers were unable to eect the starting of thevlarge simple-cylinder engines, and it became necessary to start these engines by hand operation of the iiywheel by a gang of several men, and the automatic starting devices which had 4been mounted for the, purpose were found to be unavailable.

' lVhen taking measures to obviate -this drawback and to obtain the degree of compression which is `necessary for the starting, it is 'impossible'to consider the use of a 'pump of suiiicient size and having the proper instantaneous action, inasmuch as a' numberof men would `be Vrequired to operate 'the saine, while in factthe proposed aim 'is precisely tov carry out the starting by 'a single'p'erson. One method would be to insert between the pump and the engine a tank containing compressed carburetted air, and this air could be suddenly introduced into the cylinder by' opening ga valve, but avycarburetted mixture of' this' kind is found Serial No. 505,646.

to decompose within the tank when allowed to stand for any length of time, and on the other hand the mixture has not a regular and homogeneous composition and will not produce a satisfactory result.

My invention consists in the combination of an air container filled with previously compressed air, together with a valve and a special carburetting apparatus disposed betwen the said air container and the engine cylinder, in such manner that upon opening said valve, the compressed air is introduced into the engine after passing through the carbuetting apparatus, and this will aord an explosive mixture which is formed exactly at the time of use and therefore possessing all the requisite explosive properties and having a sufficient capacity to instantly attain the pressure within the engine cylinder which is necessary to effect the proper explosion. All that is required is to pro; duce the ignition spark, whereupon the engine will start up at once. The carburetting apparatus is so constructed that the gasoline contained in the receptacle shall be submitted at the moment of operation to the pressure of the compressed air, in order that the gasoline shall properly flow from the feed nozzle. lith this arrangement, even with the use of' a small-sized compressed air container, the engine may be started in a very regular manner, and this is so carried out that th-e normal operation of the engine may be thereupon effected by placing the principal carburetting apparatus in regular action. rlhe said air container may be supplied by a small hand pump of relatively small size.

The accompanying drawing shows by way of example and in a diagrammatic manner an installation'according to the invention.

Fig. l is a general view of the installation. Fig. 2 is a partial view on a larger scale with certain parts in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a carburetor constructed in accordance with this invention, showing a slightly modified arrangement.

l indicates the cylinder olf the engine and 2 the 'normal carburetting apparatus. The starting device 'is constituted by "a hand pump 3 which servesto deliver compressed air linto the air cylinder 5 through the check valve 4. The new characteristic feature consists in the fact that between the air 'cylinder 5 'and the engine cylinder l are' dis-A posed a valve 6, for instance a hand-operated needle valve, and a special carburetting apparatus C, in such manner that when the engine piston has been previously disposed at the end of the compression stroke and the air cylinder 5 filled with compressed air, it will suffice to open the needle-valve 6 in order that the air from the said air cylinder shall be caused to pass through the carburetting apparatus, the air being therein carburetted, and thence proceeds into the cylinder wherein the pressure instantly rises to the degree which is required for the explosion. Upon producing the ignition spark, the engine is then started.

Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of the auxiliary carburetting apparatus C of the starting device. The said carburetting apparatuscomprises a feed chamber 7 without float whichis provided with a cover 8 hermetically closing the same but which is removable in order to perform the filling operation. A nozzle 9 is disposed within the piping 10 leading from the air cylinder to the engine, and at the level of the orifice thereof is preferably disposed a diuser 11 of the fixed, removable or adjustable type. A branch pipe 12 connects the pipe 10 with the top of the chamber 7, and in this manner, the cover 8 being hermetically closed, the pressure will be established above the liquid in such manner as to equilibrate the static pressure produced at the mouth of the nozzle and to permit the latter to opcrate in the normal manner.

A starting operation will require but a small amount of gasoline, and the contents of the chamber 7 will be suiiicient for a whole series of operations. When this supply is exhausted, the said chamber may be readily filled. In Fig. 8 the carburetor embodying the invention is so constructed as to avoid the use of the pipes 10 and 12, shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 1n the modified form shown in Fig. 3, the tubular portion or chamber 10 is provided with a compressed air inlet at 6, and interiorly of the body or tubular portion 10 of the carburetor is the nozzle 9 surrounded by the deflector 11. From theV body of the carburetor a second passage 12 reaches to. the top or upper part of the fuel reservoir 7 which is closed at its top by the filling nozzle 13 and the screw plug la, there being a passage 15, as shown in Fig. 3, through the wall of the carburetor casing connecting the fuel reservoir and the chamber below the nozzle 9. With this construction the divided compressed air pipes and the independent fuel connection from the reservoir to the carburetor casing, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are done away with. It is obvious that any other type of carburetting apparatus adapted to operate with compressed air may be employed, but the' type herein described is of a particularly simple character and will afford excellent results.

The invention is applicable not only to the starting of engines of all types having one or more cylinders, using a distributing device in the latter case, but its use may also be extended to all apparatus operating upon compressed air, such as automatic rivetting hammers, and in such cases the substitution of compressed carburetted air for the usual compressed air as in known devices will 1. A starting device for engines of the class described comprising an auxiliary carburetor, a container, a spray nozzle in said carburetor and communicating with said container,a compressed air tank, a conduit connecting said tankwith the bottom of said auxiliary carburetor andthe top of said container, andacommon means on said conduit for regulating the supply to both the carburetor and the container. l

2. A starting device for engines kof the class described comprising anV auxiliary'carburetor, a container, a spray nozzle in said carburetor and communicating with said container, a compressed air tank, a conduit connecting said tank with the bottom of said auxiliary carburetor and the top ofsaid container, means permitting flow through said nozzle at a level above the maximum level of the container, and a diffuser in said carburetor surrounding the top of said nozzle.

3. A starting device for engines of the class described comprising an auxiliary carburetor, a container, a spray nozzle in' said carburetor and communicating with said container, a compressed air tank, a conduit. connecting said tank with the bottom of said auxiliary carburetor and the top of said container, means permitting iiow throughsaid nozzle at a level above the maximum level of the container, a diffuser in said carburetor surrounding the top of said nozzle, and means on said conduit for regulating the supply to both the carburetor and the container.

4. A starting device for engines of the class described comprising an auxiliary carburetor, a container, a spray nozzle in said carburetor and communicating vwith said container, a compressed air tank, a conduit connecting said tank with the bottom of said carburetor and the top ofY said container, a normally closed valve 1n said conduit for 'regulating the flow fromwsaid tank to,both

10 buretor and the container, a common means for regulating the iow to said carburetor and said container, means opening said noz zle at a level above the maximum level of the Container, and a contracted portion formed in said carburetor and surrounding the upper extremity of said nozzble.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

FLIX SAINTIN. 

